


To the Ends of the Earth

by larajeansong



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: College, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Humor, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Karushuu Week 2016, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 02:46:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9052156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/larajeansong/pseuds/larajeansong
Summary: Gakushuu Asano has just started life at MIT and is happily adjusting to his new environment, but his old rival(-friend-enemy-who-even-knows), Karma Akabane, refuses to be forgotten. Written for Karushuu Week.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be my only entry for Karushuu Week, unfortunately (it's for Day 1: Runaway). I realised when I wrote this fic, which I wanted to be 4k words, that I have absolutely no self-control whatsoever. Also, happy birthday, Karma!
> 
> Dedicated to [@alisarisa](http://alisarisa.tumblr.com) on Tumblr (she draws fabulous fanart, y’all, check it out), because this fic is mainly built off the IM’s with her from a few months back when we both screamed a lot about Karushuu. Thanks, Alisa. This is a different ‘verse from _We Could Rule the World_ , and Karma’s and Gakushuu’s relationship in this is much less straightforward, just so y’all know.
> 
> Also, I’m not trying very hard to fulfill the prompts for Karushuu Week. You can probably tell. Happy holidays, everyone!

Laptop, check. Clothes, check. Money, check — hopefully enough to tide him over until he gets a bank account in America set up. Well, it looks like he’s all set. Gakushuu sits on the edge of the bed, checking his suitcase and overstuffed backpack for anything he’s forgotten, when there’s a knock on the door.

He can’t say he’s surprised — associates have been coming to visit him in a steady stream for the past few months, and his goodbye party was last week. It’s inevitable that someone would want to come bid him farewell the last night he’ll be a resident of Japan. It’s annoying that whoever it is came to do it at 11:30 PM, but if Gakushuu’s learned anything in high school, it’s that he should have low expectations for anyone who isn’t him.

When he opens the door to see Karma Akabane, though, it would be a lie to say he isn’t caught off guard, just a little bit.

Gakushuu blinks, unsure of what to say, but he doesn't have to say anything. Karma cocks his head. “Are you going to let me in?”

“Your manners have become more polished over the years,” Gakushuu says. “You didn't even hold a knife to my throat.”

“Didn't need to hold a knife to your throat for that 494 on last semester’s finals,” Karma singsongs, elbowing his way past Gakushuu and into the Asanos’ house.

Gakushuu’s eye twitches, a tic that he's never been able to get rid of, and one that Karma provokes constantly. “Which is the same score as I got. There's no need to brag.”

“Perhaps, but I had a higher score than you in three subjects out of five.” Karma bares his teeth in a smile. “One of them being math.”

Six years of dealing with Karma, and thirty seconds of being around him is still enough to arouse Gakushuu’s homicidal tendencies. Gakushuu reins in his temper with a pleasant smile. “I'm going to the university ranked third in the entire world. Yours is ranked twenty-first. I think you’re just grasping at straws to make yourself feel better.”

“Really? So do you think your academic standing at MIT will be better than mine at Todai?”

Gakushuu raises his eyebrows so high, they vanish into his hair. It’s _11:30,_ and his flight is tomorrow morning. “Why are you here?”

“The same reason as everyone else,” Karma says with a quirk of his lips that makes Gakushuu’s stomach do a little flip. “To say goodbye.”

“Aw. You’ll miss me.” Gakushuu’s lips curve into a smirk. “I’m honoured. I didn't think that you were capable of such sentimentality.”

“I’m capable of anything. Now, come on. I'll help you pack.”

“I’m already packed.”

“Not the right way,” Karma says, snagging Gakushuu’s wrist and tugging him upstairs. The redhead doesn't make a habit of coming to the Asanos’ house — none of Gakushuu’s classmates do — but he's been here enough times to know his way around. “I bet you left out something important.”

He makes himself at home immediately, unzipping Gakushuu’s backpack and suitcase and poking at his various belongings with a thoughtful hum. As it turns out, Karma's idea of “something important” turns out to be items like Gakushuu’s soccer ball, his movie collection, and embarrassingly enough, his teddy bear from second grade that was tucked _very_ far into the back of the closet.

“What's its name?” Karma asks, spinning around in Gakushuu’s desk chair. Gakushuu perches on his bed and stares straight ahead, refusing to meet Karma’s gaze, but it doesn't stop the redhead from picking up the monstrously fluffy abomination and regarding it with appraising eyes. “Come on, Gakushuu. Six years of rivalry, and you won't tell me this one tiny thing?”

“Gakuhou,” Gakushuu bites out.

Karma’s eyes widen. “Oh my God. You named a teddy bear after your dad? That's _incredible_. If you loved it so much you called it after him, why aren’t you bringing it to America?”

“Because I don't want anything that reminds me of him,” Gakushuu snaps.

Something shifts in Karma’s face — not pity, exactly, like the time in eleventh grade he found Gakushuu crying by his locker and Gakushuu threatened to decapitate him when he tried to apologise for something that wasn't his fault — but it's a little less joking than before. “Oh. So that's why you're barely bringing anything with you.”

Gakushuu is bringing what he needs, and what he needs is not to get dragged down by homesickness and sentiment and — well, he needs to get away, preferably forever.

“Okay, no movies you probably watched with him, no teddy bear you named after him, no soccer ball you kicked at his face. Got it. Nothing related to home in any way whatsoever.”

“I wouldn't have brought the teddy bear anyway,” Gakushuu says. “I stopped bringing it to bed when I was eight. I'm not really into stuffed animals anymore.”

Karma pokes at Gakuhou’s beady black eyes. “Alright. I thought that — you know, your dad and you reconciled. You got better, and whatever.”

“You're forcing me to talk about feelings. That is disgusting, and it horrifies me.”

Karma shrugs. “You're leaving the continent tomorrow. I get to be pushy. Of course, I get to be pushy even normally, but you know that already.”

Gakushuu looks at Karma for a moment, drinking in the details. Karma is almost six feet tall now, but has cultivated a slouch that drives teachers insane. His hair is annoyingly red as always, his mercury eyes glinting with mischief, but there are circles under his eyes that didn't used to be there (University of Tokyo’s first semester already started a few months ago, as did most other universities in Japan), and his lips are —

“Let's go out onto the balcony,” Gakushuu says. This is not a conversation he wants Father to hear, and the bedroom walls are far from soundproof.

Together, they go outside. Karma perches on the railing, causing Gakushuu to cock an eyebrow, but the redhead shrugs. “If you push me over, everyone is going to know it's you, considering that we've been rivals for over half a decade and this is your house. I advise you to restrain your murderous intent unless you want your admission to MIT rescinded.”

Karma’s got him there. Gakushuu sighs and perches on the railing next to him. “The same warning goes for you.”

Karma’s smile only grows sharper. He nudges Gakushuu. “Fair enough. So tell me about Asshole Sr.”

“If you call him that ever again, we're both going over this railing.”

“There would be a level of poetry in that. Fine, then. Tell me about your _dad._ Are you going to college halfway across the world because of him?”

“It's a factor,” Gakushuu admits, twisting so that he's facing away from the house. His legs dangle over the railing, threatening to drop him over twenty feet to the ground. The quote _The higher you are, the harder the fall_ flits through his mind. “I’m going to MIT regardless, but it's good to know that his presence won't be looming over me anymore. I just want to be brilliant without worrying about how he's more brilliant than I am. We did reconcile, but that can't make up for the way he behaved for over a decade. I can forgive, but I can't forget, not without getting as far away from him as I possibly can.”

Karma turns to look at Gakushuu. “I see.”

Gakushuu just shrugs. He's memorised those words, recited them over and over in his head, deliberately made them less eloquent than they could really be because he doesn’t want to bare his soul too much but he still wants to be believable, laid awake at night staring at the ceiling and repeating them in case his counsellor asks _doesn’t he want to be closer to his relatives, what about Korea,_ or his mom wants to know why he has to be so far from Dad, or a classmate tries to say Gakushuu needs to take care of his family. Besides, Father more than knows how to take care of himself. He's not frail and grey-haired just yet.

“It’s not the bravest thing I've ever done, I know.”

Karma blinks. “Don't be stupid. You sound like you think you're running away.”

“Aren’t I?”

“You're leaving a parent who's horrible to you.” Karma shifts on the railing, and his shoulder accidentally brushes against Gakushuu’s. “That's not running away. It's the right thing to do.”

Gakushuu exhales. “Thanks.”

“You’re not a coward, Gakushuu Asano,” Karma says. “You're arrogant, conceited, obsessive, manipulative, amoral, cruel, self-absorbed, obnoxious, unpleasant, rude, lacking in empathy, bossy—“

“I understand your point,” Gakushuu says. “Also, my packing is done, no thanks to you, so you should really go. I need to leave at four-thirty AM tomorrow, and it's already almost midnight.”

Karma tilts his head. “What, aren’t you going to kiss me goodbye?”

Gakushuu doesn't need to be told twice. He leans forward, kissing Karma with everything he's got because it's Karma Akabane, his rival and his friend and somewhere along the way, something different, like the first time in tenth grade Karma dragged him into a dusty, deserted classroom and shoved him up against the door before pressing his lips to Gakushuu’s, and this could be the last time Gakushuu sees him ever again. Karma’s fingers dig into Gakushuu’s shoulders, _demanding,_ and for a wild moment, they lean too far over the railing and Gakushuu thinks _this is it_ , they’ll both fall over and probably not die but they’ll at least break several bones, but then he grabs the railing with one hand and they both topple onto the cold, hard concrete of the balcony.

Karma makes a muffled noise of pain.

“I took the brunt of the blow, bastard,” Gakushuu snaps, since he's the one who fell first.

“Still hurts.”

“Don’t complain.”

Karma sits up, straddling Gakushuu, a wicked smirk on his face. “If you say so. Since we were rather unfortunately interrupted by the laws of physics, why don’t we try again?” He leans down and kisses Gakushuu first this time.

“You have _gotten_ much better since tenth grade,” Gakushuu mumbles, his head so hazy he can't add two and two.

Karma laughs and lets him up, but not before kissing him again, and again, and again. 

* * *

Gakushuu walks him to the door.

“It was really great knowing you,” Karma says, leaning against the door frame. “And also really horrible. But — really great. I went to Kunugigaoka because of you.”

Gakushuu blinks. “What?”

“Not for junior high. I didn't know you before then,” Karma clarifies. “But high school. I wanted to stick around because you're a good rival, and I figured that since my grades are good enough I could get into any university I wanted, I should pick a high school that would actually challenge me, be some fun. And you offered that.”

“I…oh.” Gakushuu has no idea what to feel. Should he be honoured? Amused? Annoyed? In the end, he settles on a decidedly forced neutrality. “Well, thank you. For not me making my high school years boring either.”

Karma smirks at him. “You're welcome. See you, Gakushuu.”

And just like that, he's disappeared out the door.

Gakushuu sighs and turns, trudging back into the living room. Father is sitting on the couch, diligently typing away on his laptop. The older Asano glances up and gives his son an amused look. “I didn’t realise you were so stressed about moving to America that you’d started to neglect brushing your hair.”

Gakushuu’s hair is unbearably tangled from Karma’s fingers running through it; they both know Father doesn’t really believe that Gakushuu forgot to brush it. Blushing, he heads into the bathroom to find a comb.

* * *

 The flight from Japan to Massachusetts is fourteen hours. Gakushuu spends some time reading, watching movies, chatting with the foreigner next to him, but eventually, he finishes his book, gets through all the good movies the airplane service has to offer (not many), and his neighbour falls asleep. His thoughts turn back toward home.

The Virtuosos all accompanied him to the airport, not caring that they had to wake up at four to get to his house on time. The exception is Seo, who's attending UCLA and left for California last week. Gakushuu saw Ren’s bloodshot eyes and knew that he cried, but everyone had the decency not to bring it up.

“Make Akabane’s performance look like shit in comparison to yours,” Gakushuu said. Ren went to Todai now as well. His best friend of the last five years smiled humourlessly and nodded.

His father was the last one to wish him goodbye. “I hope that I'll be hearing about your accomplishments on the side of the globe by the time you're twenty-five,” he said, deadpan, and Gakushuu cracked a smile.

“Of course, Father. I’m an Asano, after all.”

Gakushuu isn’t sad about leaving, and he's excited for MIT. _That’s not running away,_ Karma said, and Gakushuu smiles out the window, imagining the miles disappear behind him. 

* * *

It's not uncommon for Gakushuu to sleep only a few hours or pull an all-nighter, and while his roommate, Noah, makes some vague attempt at warning him about burnout, Gakushuu waves it off and promises not to wake him up. This seems to satisfy Noah for the most part, so he doesn't bother Gakushuu about his sleeping habits anymore.

One week into his first semester at MIT, Gakushuu nearly breaks that promise by screaming when his Skype abruptly begins to ring.

Frantically dialling down the volume and clapping a hand over his mouth at the same time, Gakushuu peers at the suddenly too-bright computer screen. His murderous rage at being so unpleasantly surprised only grows stronger when he sees the name plastered across the screen, requesting a Skype call, and of course who else would it be except Karma Akabane.

Gakushuu doesn't have the slightest idea why he hits the accept button.

“Gakushuu!” Karma chirps in nauseatingly sunny tones, and Gakushuu has handled every textbook his professors have thrown at him this week, but the sound of his name in Karma’s mouth is enough to set off a throbbing headache. He grabs his headphones and plugs them into his computer; he may have to listen to Karma, but Noah shouldn’t have to suffer too. “How's life at MIT?”

“It's 2 AM here!” Gakushuu hisses.

Karma, who’s sitting next to a bright, sunlit window, grins at him. “4 PM for me,” he singsongs. “Haven't talked to you in a while. Did you miss me?”

“No,” Gakushuu says. _Although I did_ _kind of miss staring at your attractive face_ , he thinks to himself, the sunlight through the window illuminating Karma’s face nicely. But there are plenty of cute people at MIT, and most of them don't make Gakushuu consider murder-suicide after a single conversation. “You’re disrupting my studies.”

“Aha!” Karma crows, his eyes glinting. “So you _did_ miss me!”

“What do you want?”

Karma laces his fingers behind his head. “Nothing, my dear Asano,” he says, like he doesn't know Gakushuu hates him using his surname. At the end of tenth grade, they got into an argument over finals scores and when Karma said, “Just look at the math, Asano, I did better,” Gakushuu said, “For fuck’s sake, just call me by my first name already,” and relished the surprise on Karma’s face for all of two seconds before the redhead said, “Just look at the math, _Gakushuu_ , I did better,” and was nearly punched in the face for it.

Karma says now in the same arrogant drawl, “I merely wanted to check up on an old friend.”

“I’m doing fine,” Gakushuu says, returning to macroeconomics.

“I don't believe you. You have circles under your eyes.”

“So do you.”

“True, but not due to overwork. Turns out that it's actually much easier as an adult to pull pranks, did you know? No one gets worried and asks where your mom is when you’re wandering around the city late at night.”

Gakushuu doesn’t stop reading his textbook. “Kindly spare me the details.”

Since it’s Karma Akabane and he doesn’t have a drop of kindness in his body, he proceeds to inform Gakushuu of everything that’s been happening in his life, including the teachers he’s made cry, the assignments he’s aced, and the venomous glare Ren shot him the other day when they played basketball together with some of their classmates and Karma’s team won. Gakushuu tunes him out until he finishes his story, then looks up and says, “I’m not homesick.”

Karma raises an eyebrow. “I didn’t say you were.”

“It’s implied. I don’t miss Japan, Karma.”

The redhead sighs and adjusts his position, tilting his computer screen upward. “And what if I said I just wanted to talk to you, and that was my only intention? I haven’t seen you in three weeks. This is the longest stretch I’ve gone in the last three years without so much as hearing your name.”

Gakushuu quirks his lips. “Understandable, since I’m known for my remarkable companionship. I inspire nostalgia in most of my associates.”

“Careful. I wear self-obsession better than you do.”

“If you really want to know how I’m doing, I wasn’t lying when I said I was fine,” Gakushuu replies.

“All right, I’ll believe you when you said you were fine,” Karma says with a shrug. “I’m here to annoy you, not to play psychiatrist to the deeply tangled and incomprehensible workings of your mind. Also, is that an A-minus I see?”

Gakushuu looks down at the quiz on his desk, a bright red 9/10 scribbled across the top in his professor’s hand. He scowls. “Yes.”

“In only your first week of university?” Karma clucks his tongue. “How far the mighty do fall, Gakushuu. Hold on, I’ll tell Sakakibara about it, see how it crushes his spirit. His phone number is somewhere in the Todai directory, I’m sure—“

“I texted Ren three days ago, and my university experiences are certainly not crushing his spirits.”

“You’re no fun at all.” Karma sighs. “What’s Massachusetts like?”

Gakushuu decides to be nice and indulge him, if only so he doesn’t have to stare at this textbook for a few extra minutes. “Warm. Much less crowded than Tokyo. A lot of English. Japan’s English classes are nothing compared to a single conversation with a native speaker. Also, your dorm room looks like a mess.”

Karma glances behind him. A jacket is slung over the back of his chair, socks and underwear are scattered across the floor, and even though there’s a small bookshelf to his right, most of his books are stacked on his bed. “I know. My roommate hates me, but I manage to intimidate him into avoiding the dorm most of the time, so it’s all mine.”

“It’s all your mess, you mean, which is hardly something to be proud of.”

Noah turns over in his bed, causing Gakushuu to stiffen. He spares a moment to check that his roommate hasn’t woken up.

“Is that _your_ roommate?” Karma inquires. “Not that I can really see anything except a giant heap of blankets, but he already looks like he’s nicer than my roommate.”

“What do you even have against your roommate?”

“He went to Kunugigaoka’s rival school.”

Gakushuu shoots Karma an incredulous stare. “That’s remarkably petty of you, considering neither of you go to your respective high schools anymore.”

“His school was the reason we didn’t win the football championship in twelfth grade. You were as upset as I was about that.”

Gakushuu pauses, thinking this over. “That’s fair,” he admits. “But you do realise you’re being a bit over-the-top about it.”

“Me? Since when am I over-the-top about anything?”

“You sent Tanaka and three of his friends to the hospital because they mocked your best friend for looking like a girl.”

Karma lifts his shoulders in a shrug. “I have no regrets. They do.”

It was a miracle Karma wasn’t expelled for that one, but now that he thinks about it, Karma probably threatened the boys into silence. Poor Tanaka. Although Gakushuu can only summon so much empathy — he _was_ being a bit of an asshole.

The clock reads 2:15 AM. He sighs. Timezones are awful, the truly are.

“I really do need to go now,” he says, flipping to the next chapter of his textbook. “I’m only a week ahead according to the syllabus for this class, and I want to finish this chapter by three.” He cocks his head and adds, “Call me at a more humane hour next time.”

Karma complains about how that just means it’s going to be a terrible hour for him instead, but they both know Gakushuu’s giving him an invitation. 

* * *

The two of them talk more after that. Gakushuu doesn't feel homesick, he really doesn't, but Karma can be fun to talk to when he isn’t flaunting his intelligence in Gakushuu’s face. Even if he still constantly mocks Gakushuu.

One early afternoon in November, Gakushuu realises Karma hasn't messaged him in at least a week. This is unusual for him; if he can't find the time to call, he at least texts Gakushuu the obligatory obnoxious meme to make up for it. Frowning, Gakushuu hits the Skype call button, marking the first time in two months he initiates contact with Karma.

He doesn't know what to expect when Karma picks up — to see the Todai dorms in fiery ruins, maybe, or Karma to be responding from behind prison bars — but what he gets is a Karma with bloodshot eyes and a face so pale it borders on translucent under the fluorescent dorm lighting. Gakushuu racks his brain for a greeting and says at last, “Finals?”

“Unfortunately,” Karma says, grimacing. He glances down at the pad of sticky notes he's holding. “I haven't slept for, let's see, 16 plus 8 plus 10 plus 9 — 43 hours.”

“Coffee,” Gakushuu says immediately. He’s bad at emotional comfort, and Karma looks like he's been fighting in a war, but at least he knows what to do about this. “Espresso, no sugar, no milk, none of your stupid strawberry juice. That'll only result in a sugar crash. Drink coffee and take a 20 minute nap. The caffeine should kick in just as you're waking up.”

Karma eyes him. “If I go to sleep, I might not wake up until next month.”

“Set as many alarms as you need. Where’s your roommate?”

“I threatened to slit his throat if he disturbed me. He evacuated and went to the library.”

“Aww, cranky you is adorable.” Gakushuu grins and considers telling Karma his finals won't be for another month, but he's not nearly _that_ much of an asshole to his rival. It’s a close call, though. “But that's good for you, that he’s gone. Get some coffee and nap. If you’re afraid you’ll oversleep, I'll call Ren and get him to come to your dorm to wake you up.”

“How, by pouring a bucket of ice water on my beautiful face?” Karma snorts. “I don't think so.” He gets up from his chair and disappears in search of coffee. He's back five minutes later with an enormous cup of steaming espresso.

As he's drinking it, Gakushuu asks, “When’s your exams?”

“First one is in three days. Figured it's better to be sleep deprived now and make up for it before the exam so I'm not a zombie when I walk into the testing room.” Karma tries to hide his yawn, but Gakushuu’s tried that too many times himself not to notice it. They may have both placed in the top five for every midterm and finals during high school, but Karma never had to stay out until midnight working on student council and tutoring and language classes like Gakushuu did.

“Classes tomorrow?”

“First one is at 1 PM, another at 4:50.”

“Take a ninety minute nap around dawn. Three hours if you can.”

Despite the exhaustion. Karma manages an amused glance. “And how many all nighters do _you_ pull,Gakushuu?”

“My GPA is higher than the average hours of sleep I get every night,” Gakushuu says drily. “Unweighted.”

“If this is how you felt all the time during high school, it explains a lot about your less than flattering personality.” Karma finishes off his coffee, sets an alarm on his phone, and says, “Nap time for me now, I suppose. Want to end the call?”

“No, it's alright. I finished all my assignments for the next three weeks,” Gakushuu says. “I can help you when you wake up. Even if I don't know the content myself, I can test you on it.”

Karma gives him a wry smile. “Thanks, then. I'm continuously shocked by the scraps of human decency that I see from you.”

Gakushuu returns the smile. “Shut the fuck up and go to fucking sleep already.”

“Aye-aye, captain.” Karma crawls into his bed, leaving his laptop open on the desk. Less than a minute later, the soft sounds of snoring fill the room. Gakushuu scans the review guide for calculus until he wakes up. 

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the strident barks of a dog explode in Karma’s room — because of _course_ that’s Karma’s alarm, he’s on the same level of sophistication — causing Gakushuu to almost fall out of his chair. He forgot to put in headphones, and Noah, who was absorbed in his theory of computation notes, glances up. “Gakushuu, what are you _doing_ on your computer?”

“Skyping a friend,” Gakushuu says. “My apologies. He can be noisy.”

Noah squints at him. “Is this the same friend who texted you a picture of your face photoshopped onto a donkey last week?”

Ah. Yes. That image. Gakushuu winces at the memory. “You saw it?”

“He snapchatted you several times when you were in the bathroom. I was trying to silence your phone.”

“Right, I'm sorry. I'll keep that in mind.”

Noah just laughs. He's a nice guy, easy to get along with, and doesn't mind Gakushuu's obsessive cleaning or need to work in absolute silence, and he's willing to pick up an extra espresso for his roommate on coffee runs if he's paid back. Gakushuu has told Karma more than once he should take lessons from Noah on how to be a good roommate.

Speaking of. The redhead wakes up, making grumbling noises, and oh no oh no _oh no_ —

“No!” Gakushuu whacks the side of the laptop with the only weapon he has at the time, a pink highlighter. The resulting crackle of his microphone catches Karma’s attention. “You are _not_ hitting that snooze button!”

“Why is the world so cruel,” Karma mumbles, untangling himself from his bedsheets. The alarm continues to ring — ah, _bark_. He reaches over, shuts it off, and plops down in front of his desk. “Morning.”

“It's 3 AM over there.”

“Close enough. Back to my notes. If I send you a digital copy of my textbook, can you test me on chapter four?”

“Sure.” Gakushuu accepts the Skype transfer and plugs in his headphones.

They spend the next hour reviewing. Gakushuu understands his calculus concepts inside and out, anyway, and sparing Karma this kindness probably counts as charity work, since the redhead will be less likely to murder someone later as a result. When the sun becomes visible through the window behind Karma, he yawns and says, “Alright, this is a good time to catch that 90 minute nap. Thanks, Gakushuu. You’ve become strangely nice now that you live on the other side of the planet.”

“I think that the sleep deprivation is catching on hard, Karma,” Gakushuu replies. “I’ve always been immensely nice; it’s simply your own obnoxiousness. Sweet dreams.”

“Call me again next week, okay? You understand the concepts in my textbook better than my idiot roommate, and he actually attends the class.”

The call ends with the sound of Karma yawning again as he flops down on the bed. Gakushuu smiles at the darkening computer screen.

“Hey, is that your boyfriend back in Japan?” Noah asks.

It takes Gakushuu a second to register the question through his earphones. He reddens, pulling them out. “No.”

“You’re smiling like he is.”

Gakushuu is comfortable enough around Noah that it brings nothing but satisfaction to chuck a pillow at his face. Despite the glasses and compsci major, however, Noah did varsity basketball in high school, and he just catches it, still grinning. “Long-distance relationships can be hard, I know.” 

* * *

One late night, Gakushuu is focusing on some macroeconomics work during a relatively quiet Skype call with Karma when a door bangs open. It takes him a moment to realise it’s on Karma’s end, not his, and he squints at the camera. “Who’s that?”

Karma, who had previously been taking notes on a textbook large enough to kill someone if dropped from a reasonable height, glances up. “Oh, I got a new roommate for the fall semester. He transferred in a few weeks ago.”

“What, you scared the old one off?”

“Pretty much. We hated each other.”

Gakushuu grimaces. “Which is your fault, not his.”

“Please. He should’ve been honoured to be my roommate. Any person should be. Anyway, you actually know the new roommate.”

Gakushuu raises an eyebrow. “I do?”

“You do.” Karma grins with those sharp canines that were cute as a child and now frightening as an adult. “Isogai!”

No. Impossible.

It is. Gakushuu gapes as a familiar set of antennae come into the view of the webcam. “ _Yuuma_ Isogai?”

Isogai hasn’t changed a bit since middle school — a smile that could melt the frostiest heart, warm, friendly eyes, and an adorably puppy-like demeanour that radiates forth like sunlight. Gakushuu always thought that said demeanour screamed _Take advantage of me!_

“Asano?” Isogai says, blinking. “Is that you?”

“We’re friends now, did you know?” Karma chirps. “Gakushuu and I, I mean.”

“We are not,” Gakushuu says. “I despise you.”

“The fact that you’re willing to be so honest with me in itself is proof you care about me.” Karma grins at him.

Gakushuu decides he should change the subject. Not because what Karma said is true or anything. Just because he’s curious. “So how did you and Isogai become roommates? Was it just a coincidence?”

“Oh, not at all,” Isogai says, taking a seat next to Karma on the desk the redhead’s perched on. “I’m part of a club with Karma’s ex-roommate. When I let it slip that we knew each other, and that we got along quite well as middle schoolers, the roommate practically begged me to swap with him. My own roommate at the time was a little bothersome, so I agreed.”

“He made fun of Isogai for being poor, so I rearranged his face with my fists,” Karma says with an innocent smile.

“Which was unnecessary. You’re lucky he was too scared of you to tattle.”

“Let me get this straight,” Gakushuu says.

“Unlike you.”

Isogai elbows Karma in the ribs for that, but it doesn’t wipe off the proud little smirk on Karma’s face. _That wasn’t even a good pun._ Gakushuu sighs. “ _Anyway._ You’re telling me you’re such an awful roommate, the only person who can put up with you is Isogai?”

“Well, yes.”

“He’s not so bad, actually,” Isogai says, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Granted, we’ve been rooming for four days, but—“

“Wait until he brings out the fireworks.”

“I got rid of them on day two,” says Isogai. “I didn’t want him to get expelled for illegally possessing them.”

Gakushuu arches an eyebrow, enjoying Karma’s pout a little too much. “Not bad. It takes a lot of persuasive power to pull that off without him attempting to murder you.”

“I try,” Isogai says with a modesty so earnest that Gakushuu can only ever fake it. “So how’s MIT?”

“It’s good. I’m really enjoying America, the people are—“

“Aaand I will finish my homework while you two chat about polite, mundane things because if I don’t, Gakushuu will murder me. Isogai, take my computer. I’m getting back to this chapter.” Making a face, Karma hands Isogai the laptop — the view through the webcam shifts and tilts oddly — and resumes reading his textbook.

Gakushuu and Isogai chat for a bit about university life, and it’s nice. Isogai would’ve done well at MIT. He’s intelligent and a quick learner, but not snobbish or judgmental. Plus, it’s nice to talk to someone back in Japan without being insulted every thirty seconds, although if it’s his father, it’s every three minutes, and always in a roundabout way.

After a little while, Karma declares that he’s finished his homework (“Just like a good little boy, _Mom_ ,” and Gakushuu nearly dies laughing at Isogai’s sigh) and wants his laptop back now, thank you.

“Wow, look at Saint Isogai, instilling good habits in you,” Gakushuu says. “It’s a miracle.”

“He also sets alarms for when I have to go to class, and he threw out all the ramen I had in the mini-fridge,” Karma says. “He’s disgustingly caring.”

“I’m right here, you know,” Isogai says, his footsteps echoing across the floor. A chair screeches against the floorboards as it’s pulled out, and he plops down in it. “I didn’t throw out the ramen. I convinced you to do it.”

“You made big sad puppy eyes at me, which is practically the same thing as throwing out the ramen yourself, because nobody can say no to your big sad puppy eyes.” Karma snorts. “Go away. Don’t you have some baby whales to save or something?”

Isogai’s laugh carries across the room. Karma just scowls.

“Look at you being healthy,” Gakushuu says, amused. “I bet _Mom_ is so proud of you.”

Karma groans. “You don’t understand, okay? His puppy eyes were only moderately powerful in middle school, but he grows more powerful every year. Now that he’s in college, he’s unstoppable. He could puppy-stare his way into straight A’s, but because of stupid things like ethics and integrity, he would rather do the actual work required to get them.”

“Ethics.”

“That subject you failed during middle school, yes.”

Gakushuu rarely has nightmares, but ethics has featured in them more than once. He enjoys his psychology and economics class much more. It’s useful for manipulating the market and ruthlessly exploiting people’s weaknesses, something his ethics teacher would not have approved of. “Don’t remind me.”

“Easy hundred class for me. I appreciated the boost to my grade average,” Karma says, and Gakushuu hates him. There’s a flicker of movement in the corner of the screen — the door opening. Karma twists in his chair. “Isogai, you’re going out again? You just got back in.”

“Grocery run for the family. Want me to bring you back anything, besides explosives?”

“No, I’m fine. Have fun.” Karma tosses his new roommate a cheerful wave.

The moment the door falls shut, Gakushuu blurts out, “Does Isogai not resent that I almost got him expelled from middle school?”

Karma cocks his head. "It’s Isogai, and he can clearly see you’ve changed,” he says. “Of course he doesn’t. Although I still resent you for kicking me in the head back then.”

“I certainly don’t feel guilty about that bit,” Gakushuu says. “I should’ve apologised to Isogai for it, though. Somehow.”

He recalls tenth grade Karma, who was as brilliant and violent as middle school Karma but a little bit sadder, and how looking at him started an itch under Gakushuu’s skin and a fire in his stomach that wasn’t entirely hatred. Looking at Isogai’s open, innocent face, though, Gakushuu just feels bad. The whole pole toppling fiasco was the equivalent of telling a toddler Santa Claus wasn’t real, which Gakushuu has already done once during his time in America, and which he deeply regrets.

“He’ll wave it off and say it’s unnecessary.”

“Life would be so much more straightforward if good people didn’t exist,” Gakushuu says with a sigh, mentally noting that if he ever gets Isogai alone, he’ll apologise anyway. “Sometimes, I wish everyone was as easy to hate as you are.”

Karma smirks at him, lazy and infuriating, but Gakushuu is eighteen and an ocean away and doesn’t contemplate throttling him even once. He’s certain it marks his coming of age. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” 

* * *

Karma decides to come to Massachusetts for winter break. Gakushuu is pretty sure it’ll end in bloodshed, but he agrees to it anyway.

Winter break for the University of Tokyo is only a week long, and it doesn’t start until December 27, two days after Christmas. “Can you _believe_ it,” Karma says, draping himself dramatically across his bed, but Isogai’s laughter in the background ruins the effect. “I had to go to school on my _birthday_. None of the professors even cared! One of them said happy birthday to me, but I still had to turn in my homework.”

Gakushuu, who’s already been on vacation for several days and is enjoying it even more than he usually would just to rub it in Karma’s face, smirks at him. Americans take a _lot_ of breaks, and it’s great. “I’m sorry for your loss, Karma. I understand how painful it must be to have to go to class on your birthday — oh, wait, I _don’t,_ because I don’t have to go to class on _my_ birthday, and in fact, I have not had to go to class for over a week.”

“Your lack of compassion is appalling, Gakushuu,” Karma retorts, his face buried in a pillow. “You should be more considerate, since I’m using my break to visit you. Have some respect for your elders.”

“You’re older than me by six days. That’s the same amount of time that elapses between trips to the grocery store.”

Karma shakes his head. “The time that elapses between trips to the grocery store can be quite a lot, actually, if you play it smart. If you buy enough cups of ramen—“

“You are disgusting. Spare me the details.”

Karma lifts his head from the pillow to pout at him. “You didn’t even buy me my birthday present.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll get you an exotic American souvenir. You’ll love it.” Gakushuu smirks. “How about a McDonald’s Happy Meal toy? It suits your level of maturity.”

“You have to get me two presents, remember?” Karma says. “Because I need my Christmas present as well.”

“Of course,” Gakushuu says, unfazed. “If we’re counting Christmas presents, then you have to get me three, for Christmas, my birthday, _and_ New Year’s Day.”

Karma buries his face back in the pillow again and lets out a muffled groan. “Stop using my logic against me. It looks bad on that pretty face of yours.”

Gakushuu eye twitches at the way Karma says _pretty_ , like it’s both a compliment and an insult. He knows from his high school years that it is. “I hope your plane crashes.”

“But then as my primary contact in America, you would have to be the one to tend to my corpse and send it back to Japan.”

“Just — come to Massachusetts and pick out what you want, and I’ll buy it for you. Okay?”

“So if I wanted to buy a hot tub—“

“No.”

“You said—“

“You’re rich. If you want one that bad, buy it yourself.”

Karma grumbles. “Killjoy.” 

* * *

Gakushuu has to pick up Karma at the airport at 6 AM. He makes it abundantly clear in his texts that he does not appreciate this, going so far as to send the phone numbers of three different taxi companies to ensure the message is clear. Karma still forces him to pick him up, citing his excellent companionship. _Right, that’s definitely it_.

“I had to wake up at 4 AM,” Gakushuu says as he pulls up to the curb. He doesn’t bother helping Karma pile his luggage into the trunk. “All this work, and I don’t even like you.”

“I flew across the globe to meet you,” Karma retorts, his voice hoarse from nearly a full day of flying. And too many salty airline peanuts, most likely. “I think I win on that one.”

“I had to get up at 4 AM during _winter break_ , whereas people travel during their vacations all the time.”

Karma yawns. “Whatever. I’m going to take a nap.” He climbs into the passenger seat and promptly falls asleep, his head lolling to the side.

Gakushuu pokes him in the side, then the shoulder, then the eye. It’s amazing. Karma really is asleep. For a brief moment, Gakushuu considers dumping him somewhere in a snow-filled ditch and letting him freeze to death, but as his primary contact in America, he’d be the prime suspect. Besides, better to murder him during summer vacation, when he’ll have more free time. 

* * *

It takes about an hour for Gakushuu to get back to MIT. He texts a friend he borrowed the car from to say that he's done with it, then reaches over and nudges Karma. “Wake up.”

Karma makes some vague flailing motion that Gakushuu assumes is intended to swat him away. “Ugh.”

“Just once in my entire life,” Gakushuu says, “you can wake up when I ask you to without complaints. _This one time_.”

“Mm. Fine.” Karma unbuckles his seatbelt, still rubbing his eyes. They make it into Gakushuu’s dorm without anything bad happening; they’re both too tired to insult each other.

Noah went home to New York for the break, so Karma, seeing the unoccupied bed, wastes no time before collapsing on it. “This is so much better than the mattresses at my university dorms,” he says face-first into the pillow.

Karma has no idea how good it is to hear someone else speak Japanese to Gakushuu face-to-face for the first time in four months. Gakushuu’s English has improved by leaps and bounds since coming to America, but he misses his mother tongue, even when he doesn't miss Japan herself. He exhales. “You know you’re not taking Noah’s bed. You have a hotel booked.”

“Probably within an even better mattress. I think I've entered heaven.” Karma cracks open one eye and slants his gaze at Gakushuu. “Actually, you're here, so never mind.”

Gakushuu crosses his arms. “You didn't fly all the way to Massachusetts just so you could sleep. Come on. I'll take you on a tour of the campus — after you brush your hair. It’s a mess.”

The MIT campus is beautiful, it really is. Gakushuu’s dormitory has a good view of the river, and the campus as a whole spans one hundred and sixty-eight acres. MIT created the first architectural school in America, and it shows. Though Karma complains about jet lag, Gakushuu couldn't care less. Karma will have something else to think about when he gets a good look at the campus. 

* * *

At Kunugigaoka, Karma was one of the best at English — like he was at every other subject, which he never fails to bring up — but in America, it becomes clear that Japan's English curriculum needs some serious improvement. Gakushuu doesn't struggle as much because he paid extra attention to his English studies in preparation for studying abroad, and he's been around native speakers for long enough to wield the language more naturally. None of Gakushuu’s friends make fun of Karma for his occasional stumbling during conversations, of course, but Karma is clearly knocked a little off-balance by his communication difficulties. He seems relieved when he and Gakushuu leave the other students to go to dinner.

“That actually did not go disastrously,” Gakushuu says. Karma can be surprisingly charming when he wants to, or else his teachers at Kunugigaoka would've demanded his expulsion long ago for his antics. Gakushuu’s come close to doing the same thing more than once. “Nice job.”

Karma accepts a subway token from Gakushuu. “A-plus for me, then,” he says. “Now, time for me to find myself two birthday presents.”

“I’m finding myself three,” Gakushuu reminds him, just because he can. Karma makes a face.

They take the subway to one of Gakushuu’s favourite places, a quiet, quaint street full of eccentric little shops. Karma spots a shop advertising prank gear and heads for it immediately.

“Don’t make me regret bringing you here,” Gakushuu says.

Karma picks up a small lavender orb the size of a ping pong ball. “Do you think they would let me bring a smoke bomb through the airport?”

“No,” Gakushuu responds. He has no idea if it’s true; he just knows he doesn’t want Karma bringing a smoke bomb through the airport. “If you dare to aim that water gun at me, I will ensure you won’t live to see Japan ever again.”

Karma puts both the gun and the bomb down. It’s a smart choice.

When they emerge from the prank shop, snowflakes are floating down from the sky; they stopped an hour ago, but they’re back now. Karma catches a few with his tongue. Gakushuu tries his best not to find it cute.

It’s definitely not cute when Karma pegs him in the face with a snowball.

Gakushuu could’ve just stood there in shock and indignant rage as the snow melted in his hair, but he’s too prideful to do that. Instead, he steps back, taking himself out of Karma’s immediate range. “You do realise you just declared war,” he says with deadly calm.

Karma is already scooping more snow. “First one to fall has to buy the other an extra present,” he says, and if Gakushuu wanted to take him down before, that’s nothing compared to now.

Karma finishes shaping another snowball and takes off down the street, laughing. Gakushuu grabs a handful of snow and goes chasing after him, only to realise that in less than five seconds, he’s disappeared.

Not good.

Gakushuu throws himself behind an enormous houseplant, just as a snowball appears out of nowhere, hitting it so hard it sways in its pot. Karma curses, and _aha,_ he’s given his location away. Gakushuu leans over and spots a glimpse of red hair around the corner of a storefront. He nails Karma with a shot to the chest.

Karma tries to retaliate, but Gakushuu ducks back behind the houseplant just in time. A fraction slower, and he’d be wheezing on the pavement, gasping for air, but he’s not a fraction slower and there’s an awful lot of snow surrounding him. Gakushuu gathers some more of it, creates two more snowballs, and scrambles forward. One snowball hits the wall.

Gakushuu doesn’t get a chance to throw the other.

Karma launches himself toward Gakushuu with the same determination that scored him a top ranking every year of high school and left Gakushuu _really fucking hating him_ for six years, and he’s all momentum and single-minded resolve as he knocks Gakushuu down and pins him to the sidewalk.

“Looks like we have a winner,” he says, and ah, there’s the shit-eating grin Gakushuu was expecting. He actually takes out his phone and snaps a photo of Gakushuu’s face as he struggles for breath.

“Go to hell,” Gakushuu gasps out, and drops his remaining snowball down the back of Karma’s shirt.

The expression on Karma’s face is completely worth it, even when he forces Gakushuu to buy him the most expensive spices on the block for his extra present and threatens to send the photo to the MIT administrative office.

* * *

Due to Gakushuu’s and Karma’s shared dislike for — or at least overwhelming apathy toward — the majority of humanity, the two of them agree to avoid any huge parties for New Year's and instead celebrate by getting really, really drunk at the tiny, dingy bar down the street from Karma’s hotel. And by agree, Gakushuu means they wandered around Massachusetts for several hours and decide to return to the hotel around 9 PM until Karma spots the bar and chirps, “Hey, let's go there!”

“Karma—“ Gakushuu protests, but Karma is already dragging him down the sidewalk by the sleeve. He gives in and follows him into the bar, but only because it's been too long since Gakushuu’s had alcohol, and he's pretty sure that he can exploit Karma financially and get him to buy most of the drinks. That's a rare opportunity right there.

It's nine, so no one is embarrassingly drunk yet, but many of the customers are already tipsy, including a couple in the corner who are gratuitously making out. Karma plops down by the counter and says, “Whoever has a higher alcohol tolerance wins. Whoever passes out first or quits loses.”

Gakushuu sees his opportunity. “Loser pays for every drink we have tonight.”

“Deal.”

Gakushuu slides onto the stool next to him with a smirk. “Just remember that your flight is tomorrow.”

“Not until the evening, so I don't care. What, are you scared?”

“Of course not,” Gakushuu responds as a tiny, sensible voice in the back of his head says _This is a terrible idea_. He puts it on mute and picks up the first shot. 

* * *

“This was a terrible idea,” Gakushuu hiccups after downing another shot. He makes another tally mark on the whiteboard they borrowed from the bartender.

“How many is that?” Karma asks, scrawling his own tally mark. The few sober customers remaining keep giving them strange looks — two college students babbling in incoherent Japanese who are having way too many drinks — but Gakushuu doesn't care at the moment.

“Don't know. Can you count?”

Karma waves his arms in wide, lazy circles. Gakushuu has no idea what he’s trying to indicate by the gesture. “Can’t even multiply four and four.”

“Sixteen, you idiot.”

“Yeah? Well, what’s twenty-eight times three?”

Gakushuu has to think really, really hard about that. He scrunches up his face in thought and finally concludes, “The same as three times twenty-eight.”

“Eighty-four, smartass. Looks like my math is still better than yours.” Karma cackles and clinks his shot glass against Gakushuu’s. “Hey, one more math problem for the golden boy. What was my finals ranking in the spring of ninth grade?”

“Fuck you.” Gakushuu gulps down another shot of hard liquor.

“You can only dream of being so lucky,” Karma sings, his face almost as red as his hair.

“What, fucking you?” Gakushuu laughs extra loud, just out of spite. “The last time you kissed me, you almost broke my spine falling off a railing.”

Another tally mark. Karma tries to raise an eyebrow, but it looks more like a failed attempt at winking. “You still enjoyed it, Number Two. If you think I'm bad at that, I'll give you a free sample to prove you wrong.”

The clock in the corner chimes midnight, just as Karma leans forward, capturing Gakushuu’s lips. Gakushuu responds with equal fervour, pulling hard on Karma’s hair as he kisses back, and he hopes it hurts.

“Happy birthday to me,” he says, pulling away.

Karma’s eyes glint feverishly. “Want me to sing you happy birthday?” he asks, twisting on the stool to face the other customers. “Hey, everyone!” he calls out in English, spreading his arms. “It's my friend’s birthday! Let's all sing him the happy birthday song!”

Because it's January 1st and the start of a new year and everyone is drunk, they actually do. Karma leads the entire time, singing off-key, accented, _loud_ English, all the other customers following along, and at the end, Gakushuu grabs him by the waist and kisses him again. Karma’s breath smells like liquor, they can barely keep their balance on the bar stools, and their teeth keep bumping into each other's like they’re middle schoolers. Gakushuu thinks it's the most wonderful thing in the world.

When they pull apart for air, the bartender, a friendly, dark-haired guy with a thick beard, wanders over and says, “Hey, is it actually your birthday?”

“You bet,” Gakushuu slurs, but he's smart enough to pull out an ID that doesn't have the year he was born on it. He can pass for twenty-one, easy, and he's not going to show the bartender anything that will disprove that, no matter how shitfaced he is.

“MIT student, nice,” the bartender says, scanning the ID. He hands it back. “Can’t say I’ll make everything free, but the next round’s on me. It's your birthday, after all. What about you — where do you go?” He turns to Karma.

“University of Tokyo,” the redhead replies. “I’m Karma.”

“Sure,” the bartender says. “What is that, the name on your fake ID?”

Gakushuu laughs so hard at that, his sides hurt. “See, he thinks your name is bullshit,” he says, clapping Karma on the shoulder. “Him and every teacher at Kunugigaoka, and every single person who’s ever met you!”

“My parents were weird!” Karma protests, but he's howling too. “And if you want to talk weird parents, your dad gets the gold medal!”

Gakushuu orders another round — the free one. Karma almost chokes on this one, but he manages to keep it down. Gakushuu smirks at him. “Give up yet?”

“Like hell I will,” Karma retorts, switching back to Japanese. “Hey, Gakushuu, thought you should know something.”

“That I'm the best thing to ever grace this planet? Sorry, already knew that.”

“No, no.” Karma grins lopsidedly at him as the redhead sways back and forth on his stool. “That I love you. Also, I really wish I asked you out in high school.”

“What the actual fuck, Karma,” Gakushuu responds. “Shit. I love you, too. Also, I would’ve said yes. Oh my God, we are both such fucking idiots.”

“We really are,” Karma says, waving at the bartender. “Next one!” 

* * *

Gakushuu wakes up in a very fluffy, very comfortable bed that is definitely not in the MIT dormitory. Sunlight spills through the windows and onto the sheets. Outside, snow blankets the sidewalks, carpeting everything in white. Karma’s curled up on the couch, his pillow clutched to his chest.

Because of course Gakushuu forced Karma to sleep on the couch in his own hotel room. Of _course_ he did. He can't even imagine the alarm (and chaos born of alarm) that would've ensued if he woke up next to Karma. Thank God drunk Gakushuu was still capable of foresight.

“Morning,” he croaks. “How's the hangover?”

Not that Gakushuu doesn't have a raging headache himself. He unscrews the cap on the water bottle on the nightstand — he _loves_ the hotel for this — and takes a long, luxurious gulp. Karma stirs on the couch. “My back hurts, the inside of my mouth tastes like a cat died, and you're with me, so I can only conclude we’re either in jail or in Hell.”

“Neither, actually, and I'm as shocked as you are,” Gakushuu says. “I feel a lot like dying right now, so I'm going to go take a shower in the hopes it'll make me feel like a human being again.” He musters the compassion to cap the water bottle and set it on the floor next to Karma, and he’s halfway to the bathroom when it hits him.

_I love you. Also, I really wish I asked you out in high school._

_I love you, too. Also, I would've said yes._

Gakushuu sneaks a peek at Karma’s limp form, wondering if he remembers. “Hey, what did we even do last night?”

“You forced me to pay for a _lot_ of shots,” Karma replies. “That's all I can recall.”

Gakushuu turns the shower dial to its coldest setting. “Drink some water,” he calls out, and closes the bathroom door.

* * *

Gakushuu learns a few weeks later that he aced his exams. When Noah invites him out for drinks to celebrate — his roommate’s results weren’t as perfect, but they’re still nothing to sneeze at — Gakushuu thinks about the last time he got drunk and says, “I'll pass. I have a couple other things to take care of. But thank you, Noah.”

His roommate grins. “Alright, man. Good luck. Hey, if I'm here tomorrow morning and so hungover I can't see straight, call in sick for me, okay?”

Gakushuu nods and watches Noah depart before glancing at his phone. _14 texts from Karma Akabane_.

“Why are feelings so useless and unhelpful,” he says to himself, reaching over and texting Karma back. _You don't have to hit the enter button so often, you know. I'm starting to think you have a crush on that thing._

Karma video calls him on Skype later that week. The redhead is sitting somewhere outside with Isogai, the sun shining down on them and making the latter seem angelic. Karma, of course, couldn’t pull off angelic no matter how hard he tried. “Gakushuu!” he chirps. “How's life?”

Isogai’s eyes crinkle at the corners. “Hope he didn't give you too much trouble while he was with you.”

“I only wished death on him twelve times, and only tried to enact it twice,” Gakushuu replies. “So overall, I think he was manageable.”

Karma pouts at him, and Gakushuu hates the way his face heats up. _I love you._ Can Gakushuu blame it on how casually Americans throw around the word? It's no big deal, right? Maybe they both just caught a contagious case of, Gakushuu doesn't know, Americanness, and that caused them to say things they didn't really mean.

“Ga-ku-shuu,” Karma drawls, snapping his fingers in front of the camera. “Did you hear what I just said?”

“Ignore him,” Isogai says, batting Karma’s hand away. “Asano, you should sleep. It's late over there.”

“Not really. It's fine.”

“He just likes staying up late talking to me because I'm an amazing conversationalist.”

“That's hypocritical. You're the one who's up at 3 AM to call him, no matter how hard I try to get you to sleep.”

“Which he should be flattered by.”

Karma and Isogai laugh at the same time. Gakushuu forces a smile. Maybe he _should_ end the call. You know, so he can bury himself in economics syllabi to avoid thinking about how stupid he is.

He manages empty, meaningless conversation with Karma and Isogai until a distant bell rings on their side, signalling Isogai’s departure for his next class. He bids the other two goodbye, and they both return it. The moment he’s left the bench, Karma’s posture relaxes, but his smile sharpens, and that's not a good sign.

“So what's bothering you?” he asks, staring Gakushuu down, and a lesser man would run away screaming, but Gakushuu meets his gaze. “Did my visit to Massachusetts really suck that much, or did you get an A-minus on one of your finals?”

“Nothing but A's and A-pluses,” Gakushuu shoots back. “And no, it was fine.”

“So what, then? Did your dad call you or something?”

“Conversations with my father are tolerable.” Gakushuu already reached his dad’s expectation regarding hearing about his son successes by the time he's twenty-five. A project he participated in during first semester was published in the International New York Times. He breathes easier for it — _and God, Karma really doesn't remember, does he?_

“Okay, then. Since you clearly don't want to talk about it, and you just said my visit was fine, I should probably tell you I'm considering visiting again for summer break. Yay or nay?”

Gakushuu tilts his head. “It depends. When?”

“Late June, early July. Somewhere around that time. My vacation time isn't very long, unlike you spoiled Americans.”

That's the time Gakushuu was planning to visit Kevin down in Florida. He could pull that excuse now. _Or you could do the completely not sensible thing, reschedule your visit, and say yes to Karma_. “Maybe,” he finds himself saying. “I don't know if I'll be busy at that time yet.”

Karma’s eyes widen in shock. “You're telling me that Gakushuu Asano doesn't have the next decade of his life planned down to the minute? That sounds unlike him. Am I calling the wrong person?”

“I could say the same for you,” Gakushuu counters. “You’re already planning for the summer? That doesn't sound like the disorganised wreck of a Karma I know.”

Karma raises an eyebrow. “Maybe I'm turning over a new leaf, Gakushuu. Adulthood causes you to do strange things.”

“Actually, you're still a child by Japanese standards, because you're nineteen,” Gakushuu drawls. “Whereas the threshold in the United States is eighteen. So even though I may be younger than you, I'm an adult and you're not. Which is apparent in our level of maturity as well, by the way.”

“Really, then,” Karma drawls. “Since I'm still a child, then I can still do this.” He sticks out his tongue.

“I said you’re a child, not a toddler.”

Karma spends the next five minutes making funny faces at Gakushuu in a futile attempt to get him to laugh. It doesn’t work, but Gakushuu’s irritated expression has Karma himself laughing so hard he can’t breathe. 

* * *

Things are fine, for the most part. Karma keeps messaging him irritating memes, Gakushuu distracts himself by diving into his studies with renewed intensity, and they both go about their lives as usual. Noah told him he seriously needs to calm down, _you have a 4.0 GPA and an internship_ _in your freshman year of college what more do you want_ , but one evening, Gakushuu leaves his computer unattended for five minutes to get a drink of water during a video call with Karma and he comes up to see his roommate chatting away with that _hellspawn._

“Gakushuu!” Noah says. “Sorry, I hope you don't mind me talking to your boyfriend here. He's very interesting.”

“Kill me now,” Gakushuu replies. Although really, shouldn’t it be Karma that he’s murdering?

Karma shoots him a wicked smile. “Aw, _Shuuie_ ,” he coos, and if he wasn’t on the other side of the planet, Gakushuu would be cutting out his tongue right now for calling him that. “Don't worry, I didn't tell Noah anything _too_ embarrassing about you.”

Is there even any point in telling Noah that Karma isn't his boyfriend? Noah didn't believe him the first time he said it, and Gakushuu doubts his roommate will start believing him now. Maybe he should just hit the end call button now and spare himself a lot of humiliation.

“It's so cool, hearing about what your life was like back in Japan,” Noah says. “Were you two really rivals back during high school?”

Gakushuu pastes on the trademark charismatic Asano smile, but his eyes shoot daggers at Karma, who just smirks back at him. “Yes, that's correct.”

“I was just messing with you when I said you were in a long distance relationship with him, but wow. Long-distance relationships take so much effort and commitment. Props to you for making it work, man.”

“Thank you,” Gakushuu says. “It can be _extraordinarily_ difficult sometimes, dealing with… _it,_ but we make it work despite all the _obstacles_.”

“Yeah, I get you. I tried it once, too, but we gave up after a month. Too much texting, not enough face-to-face.”

“Of course,” Gakushuu says, aware that his smile is becoming unnaturally wide. “Noah, if you don't mind, can I speak to Karma in private? We were in the middle of something important.”

“Yeah, no problem. Sorry about that, dude.” Noah steps away from the computer and goes back to his own desk, putting in his earphones.

Gakushuu sits down at the desk and, without another word, hits the end call button.

Karma writes back, _Shuuie ): you break my heart_

Gakushuu’s head hits the desk with a solid thump. The worst part is that he doesn't mind the idea of being Karma’s boyfriend at all, long distance or not. 

* * *

In May, Gakushuu texts Karma, _You know how you wanted to come to the US again for summer break? My answer is yes. Also, let's go to NYC this time._

Karma replies with a truly horrifying amount of confetti emojis. 

* * *

Karma comes to Massachusetts on the last day of June; they won’t be going to NYC until after the first few days. Thankfully, Gakushuu doesn’t have to pick him up at 4 AM this time. They spend three days exploring Cambridge and generally goofing around, and on July 2nd, Gakushuu rents a car for the drive down to New York City and the satisfaction of seeing Massachusetts disappear behind him. It takes three and a half hours, a dozen threats _to stop spilling chips all over the seat, Karma, or else I will kick you out and abandon you on the highway,_ and a lot of arguing about the GPS directions. When they get there, they're both exhausted, sweaty, and faintly murderous from being stuck in such a small space with each other for so long, but Gakushuu booked a five-star hotel and all is (mostly) forgiven when they get to the room and see how extraordinarily comfortable the beds are.

“I’m getting a sense of déjà vu here,” _Karma_ says into the mattress.

“I’m showering first. Be back in fifteen minutes.”

After they get settled in, Gakushuu takes Karma to Central Park. They buy ice cream — Gakushuu gets vanilla, and Karma gets strawberry cheesecake, so of course they mock each other’s choices — and walk around. It's good to stretch their legs after the nightmarish drive.

“I’ve been here a few times,” Gakushuu says, watching a butterfly dance in the air. It's surprising that NYC, as chaotic and polluted as it is, has any butterflies at all. “But always with my dad. It feels good, forming associations that don't involve him.”

Karma has a drop of melted ice cream on the corner of his lip. Gakushuu resists the urge to wipe it away and tells himself it’s just his compulsive need for tidiness talking. “You're not going to visit him this summer, are you?”

“No. I'll probably return to Japan for winter break next year, though.”

Karma hums. “I haven't seen my parents since I graduated high school.”

Gakushuu glances at him. Talking about Asano Sr. is unpleasant, but inevitable; it's never been that way for Karma. The only thing Gakushuu knows about Mr. and Mrs. Akabane is that they aren't around much. They didn't show up to any of the parent teacher conferences throughout high school, whereas Father never missed a single one.

“And I don't feel the slightest scrap of remorse about it,” Karma adds. “Thank God. They certainly don't seem to care, either.”

Gakushuu finishes his ice cream. “It's hard for me not to care.”

There’s still that ridiculous drop of strawberry cheesecake ice cream on the corner of Karma’s lip as he shrugs. Gakushuu thinks about all the couples that have probably kissed in Central Park before. Instead of saying that, he says, “Let's check out Times Square.” 

* * *

On July 4th, Karma and Gakushuu go to see the Macy's fireworks at a café near East River. They sit outside together, enjoying the city lights glimmering on the water, and Karma dumps about fifteen packets of sugar into Gakushuu’s espresso.

“There's no reason you should even been drinking coffee during summer vacation,” Karma says. “I’m terribly disappointed in you.”

Karma should count himself lucky that Gakushuu doesn't pour the entire piping hot mug onto his exasperatingly red head.

The first fireworks explode over the waterway in a shower of red, white, and blue. The other café customers turn their faces toward it, their expressions full of wonder, and Gakushuu would be doing that too if Karma’s eyes weren’t riveted to his for some reason.

“I’m glad we aren’t drunk this time,” Karma says. “I don't think you remember this, but at least you’re sober now.”

He kisses Gakushuu.

Gakushuu hates the universe, he thinks, but fireworks are exploding in the sky above them and it's a warm summer night and he melts into the kiss all too easily, so really, he doesn't hate the universe at all. Karma tastes like strawberries and the hot chocolate he was drinking, and out of the corner of Gakushuu’s eye, red fireworks crackle above them in a burst of colour.

“I assumed you forgot about it,” Gakushuu says.

“Oh, please, Second Place.” Karma smirks at him. “My memory is impeccable, no matter how drunk I am. You think I would forget?”

Gakushuu just looks at him.

“Yes, so I may have only remembered after I boarded the plane, and I didn’t know how to bring it up afterwards.”

“You made me suffer for _months,_ ” Gakushuu says, throwing a packet of sugar at his face.

“You know you love me,” Karma says in a perfectly reasonable tone of voice that makes Gakushuu want to punch him in the teeth. “You said as much.”

The distance the table creates between them is suddenly too much. Gakushuu stands up, shoving back his chair, and grabs Karma’s wrist. “Brooklyn Bridge is less than a kilometre away,” he says, slapping down a ten dollar bill. “Let’s take a walk.”

They barely make it to the sidewalk before Karma pins Gakushuu against the nearest tree and kisses him again, and Gakushuu feels a foreign heat under his skin as he kisses back, and Karma’s barely moved away when he says, “Did you really mean it, or were you just that drunk?”

“I meant it,” Karma says.

“Then—“ Gakushuu groans. “You assumed _I_ forgot.”

Karma shrugs. “I underestimated you, but I don’t consider that judgment to be unfounded. I am, after all, of greater intellect than you. It can be hard to keep up.”

“My memory is impeccable, no matter how drunk I am,” Gakushuu says in a terrible falsetto, and Karma snorts. 

* * *

They kiss three more times before they make it to the Brooklyn Bridge, and another three times under it. Then they find an abandoned bench and watch the fireworks for a while, Gakushuu comfortably in Karma’s arms.

“I miss you, sometimes,” Gakushuu says. “I miss how it was in high school.”

Karma exhales. “Me too.”

“Hey, you should do really well at Todai, just so we can take over the world together.”

“I already am.”

“Do better. My goal is to take over the world by the time we’re twenty-five, you know.”

Karma chuckles. “Let’s make it happen, then.” 

* * *

The New York City airport is — much like any other place in New York City — enormous, crowded, and alive with noise. They don’t go inside, not just yet. Karma leans against the wall with his suitcase, watching people stream through the doors.

“So,” Gakushuu finally says. They stand side by side, not quite looking at each other. “If taking you all the way to New York City to watch fireworks by the Brooklyn Bridge doesn’t qualify as romantic, I don’t know what does.”

A smile tugs at the corner of Karma’s mouth. “Why, are you saying this was a _date_?”

“You said you _wished_ you asked me out during high school,” Gakushuu says. “But you never did, and you still haven’t. So I did.”

Karma twists to face Gakushuu, cocking an eyebrow. “I’ll beat you to the real question, then. Gakushuu Asano, will you be my boyfriend?”

Something falls into place at last. A jigsaw piece that didn’t fit anywhere else, despite years of trying. “Yes.”

Before Karma can say anything else, Gakushuu adds, “But I still get more points than you do, because the date required more effort.”

Karma — his _boyfriend —_ laughs. “If you want to turn this into a math contest, I get points for _this._ ”

He moves forward and kisses Gakushuu one more time, and they’re at a public airport in one of the most populated cities in the world and everyone can see them, but Gakushuu won’t see him for months, so he doesn’t really care.

“I love you,” he says. “And I was first to say it sober, so I get points for _that._ ”

Karma just grins at him and kisses him again, a quick peck on the lips, before grabbing his suitcase. “I love you, too. And I’ll catch up when you come to Japan,” he promises, and disappears into the airport.

Still unable to stop smiling, Gakushuu watches him leave, all the way up until his phone vibrates in his pocket. _1 text from Karma Akabane._

**Author's Note:**

> Talk to me about Assassination Classroom on Tumblr [@karushuus](http://karushuus.tumblr.com).


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